Needles are used in a wide range of medical applications. For example, needles are used in biopsy procedures. A biopsy typically involves identifying a tissue of interest, such as suspicious solid mass, a distortion in the structure of a body tissue, or an area of abnormal tissue change. A needle may be inserted into the abnormality and used to withdraw a small tissue sample for investigation.
Various types of needles may be used for biopsies. In fine needle aspiration, small hollow needles are used to extract cells from a location of interest. A core needle is a larger diameter needle which may be used to withdraw larger samples of tissue. Vacuum assisted devices may be used to collect multiple tissue samples during one needle insertion. In some cases medical imaging technologies are used to assist in placing a guide wire into a location of interest to assist a surgeon in locating the abnormality for a surgical biopsy.
A challenge in performing needle biopsies, or like procedures, is that the needle, or other thin member, and particularly the end thereof, must be placed at a desired location in the subject's body. Imaging of the subject's body and needle placed therein, such as ultrasound imaging or the like, may be used during needle insertion, and the resulting images used to help guide the needle to a desired location. A problem with using imaging in any of these procedures, or like procedures, is that the needles are often very difficult to see in an image. This makes it difficult for a person taking the biopsy to ensure that the needle has reached its target. Also, guiding the needle to place the tip of the needle at an area of a location shown in an image can take a significant amount of skill because the image does not always provide good feedback to the practitioner regarding exactly where the needle is placed and/or how the needle should be manipulated to cleanly enter tissue at the location. Also, the needle may not be visible in the image because all or part of the needle is out of the plane of the image.
Accurate needle placement is also important in a variety of medical procedures that involve delivering substances into the body of a subject using needles. For example, accurate placement may be required for the introduction of a drug, such as an anesthetic, or a radioactive seed for cancer treatment or the like.
The following US patents, US patent applications and other publications disclose technology that may be in the general field of this invention:                U.S. Pat. No. 7,599,730 to Hunter et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 7,529,393 to Peszynski et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 7,366,562 to Dukesherer et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 7,221,972 to Jackson et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 7,174,202 to Bladen et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,920,347 to Simon et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,785,571 to Glossop;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,449 to Lee et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,458 to Stein et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,616 to Glossop;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,029 to Paltieli;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,246,898 to Vesely et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,675 to Henrion et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,819 to Manwaring;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,489 to Ben-haim;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,165 to Dumoulin et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,536 to Vilkomerson et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,698 to Strohl Jr. et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,228 to Van Steenwyck et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. RE41066 to Martinelli et al.;        U.S. Pat. No. RE40852 to Martinelli et al.;        US2009/0221908A1 to Glossop;        US2008/0183071 to Strommer et al.        US2007/0232882 to Glossop et al.;        US2007/0167787 to Glossop et al.;        US2006/0241577 to Balbierz et al.;        US2006/0184016 to Glossop;        US2005/0182295 to Soper et al.;        US2005/0085793 to Glossop;        US2004/097806 to Hunter et al.;        US2004/0267121 to Sarvazyan et al.;        WO 2007/067323 to Webler et al.;        WO 99/59055 to Vesely et al.;        WO 99/33406 to Hunter et al.;        WO 99/27837 to Paltieli et al.;        WO 97/03609 to Paltieli;        WO 94/24933 to Bucholz;        Freehand 3D Ultrasound Calibration: A Review, P-W. Hsu, R. W. Prager A. H. Gee and G. M. Treece CUED/F-INFENG/TR 584, University of Cambridge Department of Engineering, December 2007        